A Day for Divas to Shop Local

To boost Oskaloosa, Iowa’s buy local movement, Nancy Simpson of the Book Vault has partnered with other indie businesses to offer “A Day for Divas,” an afternoon of shopping, sampling, and indulging. The businesses organize cooking demonstrations, book talks, a trunk show, chocolate and wine tastings, lunch, store tours, makeovers, and a coffee break for groups that traveled from store to store.

Simpson said, along with emphasizing the importance of shopping locally, she wanted to capitalize on Oskaloosa’s renovated and active downtown. To start, Simpson invited six other indie businesses, all owned or managed by women, all within two blocks of each other to the Book Vault to “discuss the Diva Day project as a way to not only encourage people to shop local, but to let people from neighboring areas know that Oskaloosa is a fun place to shop with unique offerings,” she said. “What better way than to give women a fun ‘Girls Day Out’ during which they were pampered. They’d have fun in our stores, learn what we carried, and hopefully think of us when they next shopped.”

The first Day for Divas was such a success that it has become a recurring event. When the Divas arrive, usually at 9:30 a.m., they are given a bag of goodies that include coupons, information, and samples.

Cost for the entire day, which ends around 3:30 p.m. and includes lunch, is $25. “Thus far we have made enough money from the project to pay for our advertising and the brochures,” said Simpson. While the event itself breaks even, “our bottom line gets a boost from the extra merchandise sold that day (our tape always shows a nice increase on Diva Days) and from the repeat business when they return to our store.”

The event has caught on via Diva alumni spreading the word. “Very often one woman in the group will have been in a previous group and had so much fun that she gets her own group together,” said Simpson. “We have family groups, church groups, book clubs, knitting clubs, girlfriends. The minimum number is five [in a group]; bookings are taken up to 10 days prior to the date; and we don’t book on Sundays because not all the stores are open. The great thing is that [the groups] can choose their own dates. I confirm it with the merchants and then reconfirm with the group. If the group is over 20, we divide them in half, and we run one of the groups ‘backwards.’”

The seven stores now participating in Day for Divas and their activities, which also include time for browsing and shopping, are:

• Book Vault:  cooking demonstration with samples in the Book Vault kitchen by the in-store chef, Ruthi Rogers. Wine is served also.
• Brown’s Shoe Store:  Rhona Swanson shows the latest fashions in shoes and then gives the women a foot massage while they drink their mimosas.
• Hunter’s Gift Shop:  Shirley Hunter serves a delicious lunch made from natural local ingredients in her coffee shop at the rear of the store.  They have a full lunch, including dessert.
• Marjie’s Manageries:  Wine tasting (Sommerset wine from Indianola) and chocolate tastings from Stams Chocolates are offered by Marj and Jim Rinehart.
• Debbie’s Merle Norman:  Debbie Sedral treats the women to a peach paraffin hand dip while Brenda gives them a quick make-up freshener.
• Hall Tree by Geri:  Geri Harnisch and Jane lead the women through an exercise to determine their colors. 
• Smokey Row Coffee Shop:  The SR crew have a special table reserved for the by-then exhausted ladies, where they can enjoy their free cup of coffee and recharge with fresh pie, ice cream, and other goodies.

“The Divas have fun and are made to feel special,” said Simpson. “But we want merchants to have fun also … it’s contagious! We’ve had two other stores ask to join our group, but after discussion, we decided the day is long enough as it is. We’ve talked about making it a two-day affair, staying at a local B&B, hitting a few more shops on the second day, and then ending at our local winery… but it’s just talk at this stage.”

To watch a video of A Day for Divas, visit www.criwmpennu.org, scroll to the October 8 broadcast, and start at 18:28.